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Grenada (A better world TL)
History The Anti-Serbia War (1914-1918) Nothing notable happened. It stayed neutral like the UK did. The inter-war years The Great Depression (1929-1940) There was a sharp decline in exports for about 2 years. The Anti-Hitlerian War (1939-1946) It joined the war in the UK did. Cold War Independence came in 1974. On October 19, 1983, Bernard Coard and his wife Phyllis, backed by the Grenadian Army, led a coup against the government of Maurice Bishop and placed Bishop under house arrest. Maurice Bishop was executed and the USA. The overthrow of a moderate government by one which was strongly pro-communist worried the administration of US President Ronald Reagan. Particularly worrying was the presence of Cuban construction workers and military personnel who were building a 10,000-foot (3,000 m) airstrip on Grenada. Bishop had stated the purpose of the airstrip was to allow commercial jets to land, but US military analysts argued that the only reason for constructing such a long and reinforced runway was so that it could be used by heavy military transport planes. The contractors, American and European companies, and the EEC, which provided partial funding, all claimed the airstrip did not have military capabilities. With in days of the coup 100 Soviet and 1,000 Cuban troops had been sent to the island. With in days after Reagan's criticisms 20 more Soviet troops were infiltrated into Grenada. The joint American\Texan invasion of 25–29 October 1983 ended in a stalemate after the small Soviet air arm (5 Mikoyan MiG-29 air superiority fighter, multirole fighters and 1 Mikoyan MiG-29 interceptor and reconnaissance aircraft) shot down 3 UH-60A Black Hawk helicopters and a A VA-87 A-7E attack aircraft. Peace talks were held in Canada, but it only lead to the removal of the Soviet and Cuban forces prior to the 5 year blockade of all arms and technology shipments to the island. 1990s . . . Life today The New National Party and National Democratic Congress run a joint transitional regime that took over when Bernard Coard retired, shortly after his cuban mentor, Dr Fidel Castro, had died of old age. The naion is now prospering like it has never before. Grenada never wanted, and still doesn't want atomic arms as a matter of principle. Economy It's not called the Spice Island for nothing – you really can smell the nutmeg in the air on Grenada. And it could be called the Fruit Island for the luscious bounty growing in the green hills. Grenada is a leading producer of several different spices. Cinnamon, cloves, cocoa (grown since at least the 1910s), choclate, drinking chclate, ginger, mace, allspice, orange/citrus peels, wild coffee used by the locals, and especially nutmeg, providing 20% of the world supply, are all important exports. Grenada is the world's second largest producer of nutmeg (after Indonesia), with nutmeg depicted on the Grenadian flag. The Grenada Chocolate Company has pioneered the cultivation of organic cocoa, which is also processed into finished bars. In 2017, the Pure Chocolate Festival will be celebrating its fourth year of existence as a formal festival. Tourism is Grenada's main economic force. Conventional beach and water-sports tourism is largely focused in the southwest region around St George, the airport and the coastal strip. Ecotourism is growing in significance. Most small ecofriendly guesthouses are located in the Saint David and Saint John parishes. The tourism industry is increasing dramatically with the construction of a large cruise ship pier and esplanade. Up to four cruise ships per day were visiting St. Georges in 2007–2008 during the cruise ship season. Tourism is concentrated in the southwest of the island, around St. George, Grand Anse, Lance Aux Epines, and Point Salines. Grenada has many idyllic beaches around its coastline including the 3 km (1.9 mi) long Grand Anse Beach in St George which is considered to be one of the finest beaches in the world and often appears in countdowns of the world's top ten beaches. Besides these excellent beaches, tourists' favourite points of interest yet in Grenada are the waterfalls. The nearest to St. George's is the Annandale Waterfalls, but other notable ones like Mt. Carmel, Concord, Seven Sisters and Tufton Hall are also within easy reach. Hurricanes On 7 September 2004, after being hurricane-free for 49 years, the island was directly hit by Hurricane Ivan, which damaged or destroyed 90% of the island's homes. On 14 July 2005, Hurricane Emily struck the northern part of the island causing an estimated USD $110 million (EC$297 million) worth of damage. Organisations #Warsaw Pact (1951-1995) (A better world TL) #ComEcon (1950-1995) (A better world TL) #CariCom (A better world TL) #The Cuba-Grenada Accords (A better world TL) Category:Grenada Category:Islands Category:A better world (TL) Category:West Indies